Hillsborough BOE Eyes Route 206 Bank Site For New School Bus Facility

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — The Hillsborough Board of Education discussed a possible interest in a property on Route 206 that could help address long-term transportation facility needs.

At the Monday night Board of Education meeting, the discussion focused on the former Providence Bank property at 425 Route 206.

Board member Marc Ehrenkrantz described this as a "unique possibility pop-up" for the school board if another application for the property falls through.

The property is located right next to Hillsborough Elementary School and could offer another option for bus operations.

In December 2025, the school board discussed the need to build a new facility for the transportation and maintenance department.

Currently, all of the maintenance work for school buses is being done at what the district calls the Bloomingdale School on Amwell Road. It has been described as an "aging facility" that doesn't have bays large enough to service full-length buses.

The Providence Bank site is currently under contract, and a buyer, Flagship NJ Propco LLC, doing business as Spotless Brands Car Wash, wants to build a car wash there.

However, the project would need a variance from the planning board.

Flagship NJ Propco LLC presented its plans to demolish the vacant bank building and replace it with a 13,995-foot car wash during an informal review with the Hillsborough Planning Board on April 16.

The property, at 425 Route 206, is a 3.2-acre site in the TC Town Center District and the Architectural and Site Design Overlay District.

Planning Board Attorney Eric Bernstein said the use is not permitted in the zone and must be decided by the zoning board through a use variance.

"If they get a variance, it's a done deal, and we're done with it," Ehrenkrantz said. "But if they don't get the variance, it's a possibility that we could acquire those three acres and that would solve a lot of problems that we have with updating that facility for the bus facility, and it potentially could save us a lot of money to do that."

Board President Joel Davis said the district is weighing whether to let the planning board know that the school system could have an interest in the site if it becomes available.

"And the context is with regard to the transportation facility, a place to park buses, put a new building, all these types of things, as opposed to using the field here next to ARIS[Auten Road Intermediate School],” Davis said.

Ehrenkrantz said using the property could reduce disruption if the district upgrades its current bus facility.

"We would not have to disrupt the operation while the improvements were made, and the property itself would give us egress on two different roads [Route] 206 and Amwell,” he said.

He also said utilities are already on the site, and the bank building could be useful as offices.

Superintendent Michael Volpe said the idea under discussion was limited.

"No financial commitments, just that we have a general interest," Volpe said.

The conversation stopped short of any action on a potential purchase.

When board member Cynthia Nurse asked whether the district knew the contract price, Volpe said, "No, we do not."

Business Administrator Gerard Eckert then cautioned that the discussion was getting close to "something that probably should be an executive session issue at this point because any comments could impact any future negotiations if the property were to become available again."

Related Reporting:

• Car Wash Proposed For Vacant Bank Site On Route 206 In Hillsborough
• Hillsborough Explores Options For New School Bus Maintenance Facility

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